Irvine to Get $339,000 to Help Homeless

The City of Irvine has been notified that it will receive a $339,000 federal grant to house the homeless.

In December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development canceled a $496,000 grant that was to be used to convert a dog kennel into a shelter for homeless people. That plan was scrapped when federal officials decided that the proposed site was “environmentally unacceptable.” In citing the main reasons for withdrawing the funds, the officials said the site is directly under the flight path of one of the busiest runways at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and that noise and the danger of aircraft accidents were also concerns.

The city reapplied for the grant and was informed this week that it has been awarded $339,000 to be used to expand a current housing program, Deputy City Manager Paul Brady Jr. said. The grant will be made in installments of $67,900 per year over five years.

Brady said the program, run by the nonprofit Irvine Temporary Housing Inc. and paid for with community development funds, rents five apartments for homeless families. The grant money will be used to rent an additional five apartments, Brady said.

Irvine Temporary Housing Inc. will be required to raise matching funds from private sources over the next year.

Brady said the city is still looking into other alternatives for the homeless. One is the possibility of creating a shelter at the civic center when the city staff moves to a new City Hall later this year; another is to renovate eight abandoned farmhouses owned by the Irvine Co.